Door latch



1948. s. w. PARSONS 2,441,033

DOOR LATCH Filed April. 11, 1945 /4 I gram T04? Sfuarv LJ Parsons Patented May 4, 1,948

noon LATCH Stuart W Parsons, New Britain, Conn., assignor to The Stanley Works, New Britain, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application April 11, 1945, Serial No. 587,675

The present invention relates to door latches of the type having a spring-projected bolt manually retractable and adapted to be cammed. out of the way by a strike or keeper during the closing of the door. 7

An aim of the invention is to provide an improved latch for cabinet door and the like and of such construction and arrangement that the door, in the event that it should be slammed shut, is prevented from rebounding open, the arrangement being such as to allow the bolt to move into latching position behind the keeper before the door reaches fully closed position and thus permit the bolt to move forwardly early enough to catch the rebound.

A further aim of the invention is to provide latch wherein upon manual withdrawal of the bolt, the pressure of the bolt against the strike or keeper is instantly eased to permit the further withdrawal of the bolt with relatively little effort.

Another object of the invention is to provide a latch which is of advantage in that accuracy in the manufacture of the parts of thelatch is not required, in that the latch may be installed by unskilled persons since considerable leeway in its position is allowed, and in that, after the latch is mounted, warping and the like of the door structure, andwear between the parts is taken care of automatically.

A still further aim of the invention is to provide a latch having the above and other advantages and which is characterized by its simplicity in construction, its economyin manufacture, the ease and facility with which it may be operated, and by its relatively long life in use.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the applications of which will beindicated in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top elevational view of my improved latch, a door and a jamb with a keeper being shown in broken lines;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the latch taken substantially on line 22 of Fig. 4 looking in the direction of. the arrows, the bolt being shown in withdrawn position;

Fig. 3 is a rear view of the latch; and t Fig. 4 is a View of the inner end thereof.

Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated 6 Claims. (Cl. 29266) generally a latch having a casing C within which is mounted a bolt B normally urged into latching position by a compression spring S. The bolt is mounted for combined longitudinal and rocking movement and for this reason the inner end of the bolt is slidably fulcrumed relative to the casing and there is provided a link L (comprising two plates) which is pivoted at I0 to the bolt between its ends and to the casing at H rearwardly of the bolt. The outer face of the bolt and the outer edges of the link L are such that when the door is swung closed, the plates and bolt are automatically cammed inwardly by a, keeper K. In the present instance, the structure is shown, for illustrative purposes, as being provided with a plunger A by means of which the link'may be manually pivoted to move the bolt to withdrawn position when it is desired to stance, the inner end wall [6 of the casing is provided with an opening ll'through which the tail end of the bolt slidably extends. The top and bottom walls I2 and I3 of the casing are channeled, as at I8, so as to accommodate a hereinafter-described yoke portion of a plunger A.

The bolt B has a head I9 on its outer end provided with a forwardly-facing keeper-engaging face 20. The bolt has a stem or tail 2| extending through the opening ll in the inner wall 16 of the casing and on the end of the tail 2| is a projection or tab 22 for limiting the outward movement of the bolt; The spring S encircles the tail 2| and abuts at its opposite ends against the bolt at the inner end of the head and against the inner end wall iii of the casing respectively.

As stated, the link L comprises two plates 23 and these plates may be of identical construction, as illustrated. The bolt B is situated between these plates and is pivoted between its ends to the forward ends of the plates by the rivet or pin Ill. The plates 23 are pivoted to the casing by the rivet or pin l I and it can be seen, particularly from Fig. 1, that the point of pivot is located rearwardly of the bolt and substantially behind the rivet or pin l0 when the bolt is in extended position. When the bolt is in extended position, the outer edges 24 of plates 3 23 are inclined rearwardly and inwardly and the forward ends of the edges 24 register with the curved or cam surface 25 on the outer end of the head of the bolt, whereby, when the door is being closed, the keeper K on the door jamb J will cam the plates and bolt into the casing.

The bolt may be manually retracted in any suitable manner as. ,by' pulling directly on the end of the tail. For illustrative purposes, the plunger A is shown for retracting the bolt. This plunger includes a U-shaped yoke 26, the arms of which lie in the channels l8 of the casing. The plates 23 are pivotally connected to the rear ends of the yoke 26 by a rivet or pin 21. plunger further includes a rod 28 secured to the forward end of the yoke 26 and adapted to extend through a bore in the door and a. button 29 screwed into red 28 for purposes of adjustment.

The operation of the device will be clear from the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. It will be seen that, with the parts as in Fig. 1, the spring urges the bolt against the keeper in such manner that the door is held in closed position against rattling or the like. When it is desired to open the door, it is merely necessary to retract the bolt, as by pushing in on the plunger A, and then swing the door open. Because the bolt is urged against the keeper in the manner described, it will be seen that instantly upon beginning to retract the bolt manually, the pressure of the bolt against the keeper will be eased and hence further withdrawal of the bolt is accomplished with no frictional resistance encountered due to the engagement ofv the bolt and keeper. When the door is swung closed, the edges 24 of the plates 23 and the cam surface 25 of the bolt will engage the end of the keeper so that the bolt is cammed back into retracted position and then when the curved end surface 25 of the bolt rides off the end of the keeper, the spring S will automatically force the bolt into latching position.

with respect to the keeper. As previously pointed out, due to the manner in which the bolt is mounted, the head thereof has a forward swinging movement so that the keepenengaging face 29 is urged laterally against the cooperating face of the keeper. This operation of the bolt is. designed to eliminate the possibility of the door rebounding open before the bolt hasa chance to move into latching position since the keeperengaging face 28 begins to move over the keeper before the door reaches closed position. Hence, when the door reaches closedposition, at which point the rebound would normally begin, the bolt has already begun to move into latching position and the door is prevented from reboundinginto open position. The manner in which the keeperengaging' face is urged laterally against the cooperating face of thekeeper also serves to hold these faces in engagement with one another and thereby prevent rattling of the door. Further-- more, due to the combined rocking and sliding movement of the bolt resulting in the head thereof coming forwardly and outwardly during a latching operation, accuracy in relatively positioning the keeper and the latch is not required since the face 29 of the head will engage the keeper and latch the door even though the parts are so assembled that the bolt is not fully projected. Also, with this arrangement, warplngs or distortions in the door ja'mb and wear on the parts are automaticallytaken care of.

As many changes could be made in the above construction andmany apparently widely difl'er- The ent embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a door latch, a casing, an inarticulate bolt in. said casing guided at one end by said casing for longitudinal and rocking movement, said bolt having at the other end and longitudinally thereof a forwardly-facing keeper-engaging face disposed in a plane at right angles to the plane of rocking movement of'the bolt, a link of constant effective length pivoted to said bolt between the ends thereof and to said casing rearwardly of said bolt, and a spring urging said bolt into keeper-engaging position.

2. In a door latch, a casing, an inarticulate bolt in said casing having at one end a head extending longitudinally therefrom and adapted to extend beyond said casing and with a forwardly-facing keeper-engaging face, and at the other end thereof a tail supported by said casing for longitudinal and rocking movement, said keeper engaging face being disposed in a plane at right angles to the plane of rocking movement of the bolt, 2. link of fixed effective length pivoted to said bolt between the ends thereof and pivoted to said casing behind said bolt, and a spring urging said head to extend beyond said easing into keeper-engaging position.

3. In a door latch, a casing having an open face, a. substantially straight, inarticulate bolt member in said casing having a head extending longitudinally therefrom and adapted to extend through said open face and having a forwardlyfacing keeper-engaging face, said bolt member having a tail, an aperture in said'casing accommodating said tail and serving as a fulcrum for guiding said bolt member in compound curvi linear motion, said keeper-engaging face being disposed in a plane at right angles to the plane of rocking movement of the bolt, a link of fixed effective length pivoted to said bolt member betweenthe ends of the latter and pivoted to said casing behind said bolt member, a spring urging said bolt member to extend beyond said casing into keeper-engagingposition, and means on one of said members for withdrawing said bolt member against the force of said spring.

4'. In adoor latch, a casing, a bolt in said casing having at one end a head provided on its outer end with a curved cam surface and also having a forwardly-facing keeper-engaging face, means for pivotally and slidably supporting the other endof said bolt, a link of fixed eifective length pivoted to said bolt between the ends thereof and pivoted to said casing-behind said bolt, said link having its outer edge inclined rearwardly andinwardly from said cam surface when the bolt is in extended position, and a spring about said bolt and normally urging the same into latching position, said keeper-engaging face being disposed at right angles to the'plane' of movement of the bolt.

5. In a door latch, a casing, a bolt in said casing having at one end'a head adapted to extend beyondsaid casing, the outer end of said head having a cam surface and said head also having a forwardly-facing keeper-engaging face, means ori the casing for supporting the other end of said belt for longitudinal and rocking movement, said keeper-engaging face being disposed at right angles to the plane of movement of said bolt, a link comprising a pair of like plates straddling V said bolt and pivoted thereto between the ends thereof, said link being pivoted to said casing behind said bolt and the outer edges of said plates being inclined rearwardly and inwardly from said cam surface when the bolt is in latching'position, and a spring associated with said bolt nor- -mally urging the same into latching position.

6. In a door latch, a casing, a bolt in said casing having at one end a head adapted to extend beyond said casing, the outer end of said head having a cam surface and said head also having a forwardly-facin keeper-engaging face, means on the casing for supporting the other end of said bolt for longitudinal and rocking movement, a link comprising a pair of like plates straddling said bolt and pivoted thereto between the ends REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PA'fENTS Number Name Date 1,139,870 Hundert May 18, 1915 1,301,260 Heinemann Apr. 22, 1919 1,423,773 Mathews July 25, 1922 2,097,232 Hartman Oct. 26, 1937 2,136,662 Anderson Nov. 15, 1938 

